Nepenthales: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Nepenthales are an order of dicotyledons, including several kinds of carnivorous plants. Under the older Cronquist system, three families were placed here:

• Family Droseraceae (sundew family)
• Family Nepenthaceae
• Family Sarraceniaceae

Newer systems abandon the order, treating the Sarraceniaceae in the Ericales and the other families in the Caryophyllales. Although all these plants are carnivorous, their methods of capturing food differ. Among the Droseraceae, the sundews catch insects with adhesive droplets and the Venus Flytrap captures them interlocking teeth. The other families include pitcher plants, which drown their prey.